Itinerary

Day 1

Cotonou. Reception & Assistance to the Formalities at the airport. Transport and Installation in the hotel. Dinner and Overnight stay.

Day 2

Cotonou - Porto Novo

Breakfast. Departure for Porto Novo. Arrival to Porto Novo. Capital administrative and historic city, second city of Benin with her architecture in Brazilian. Discovered of: the governor's former palace, today transformed into National siege of the Assembly, Royal palace today (Honmè) museum of Porto-Novo, ethnographic museum of Porto-Novo which contains a magnificent collection of ritual masks, musical instruments and traditional tools. Animated markets such that of the Ajarra where abound the creation of potters, Tom-toms and of articles basket makers. Visit of Museum ( Honmè) and ethnographic Museum. Visit of the Temples and idols crowned. Visit of the sacred forests of the realm of Porto-Novo. Installation to Songhaï center and lunch.

Songhaï center: Situated in a district of Porto Novo called Ouando, the Center Songhaï is a place importing to visit if you want to have a sight moved closer to the agricultural production of Benin. A walk through this big firm made discover any sorts of cultures, high animals and the way the Africans devote themselves to the task in these two domains. Afternoon Visit of the Adjarra Market and the other markets also. Visit of Brazilian mosque. Return and stroll on foot in center Songhaï. Dinner and Overnight stay.

Day 3

Porto-Novo : Ketou - Abmomey

Breakfast. Departure for Ketou. Visit of the magic gate that moved alone from another place to here. Visit of royal palace and courtesy visit to his majesty King of Ketou. Continuation on Abomey city Arrival to Abomey. Historic capital of Benin, Abomey the royal was based by 1645 before its colonization by the French people. Abomey also represents one of the centres of the traditional religion in Benin. The museum of Abomey is a set constituted of built and of course that bound, by places, enclosing walls and bulwarks of impressive height and is installed in the palaces of kings ghézo and Glèlè.

The Museum is classified world heritage by the UNESCO since 1985. We meet more than thousand diverse and varied objects there (1050 objects grouped together in weapons, thrones, swords, scepters, jewels, diverse sculptures and paintings. The museum of Abomey is a set constituted of built and of course that bound, by places, enclosing walls and bulwarks of impressive height and is installed in the palaces of kings ghézo and Glèlè. The Museum is classified world heritage by the UNESCO since 1985. We meet more than thousand diverse and varied objects there (1050 objects grouped together in weapons, thrones, swords, scepters, jewels, diverse sculptures and paintings, funeral altars in metal, graves, etc.).

In the village of the craftsmen situated in the interior of the museum, the numerous craftsmen, the descendants of kings who make and bet on sale any sorts of objects d'art in the motive telling the exploits and the strong names of each of kings, and stories whole of the realms of Abomey. The royal Palace of Djime where the Grave of king Behanzin is kept by the princesses until this day. Installation to the Beach and Lunch. Afternoon visit of the place Goho.

The big park situated in the entrance of Abomey city is "Place Goho". Here, you have the statue of King Béhanzin, who fought against the French people to defend Abomey city. This statue set up in the entrance of Abomey city is a tribute in the efforts which he displayed for the protection of the realm. It is the meeting place between King Béhanzin and the General Dobbs in 1894. The place shelters since then the statue of King Béhanzin. Visit museum, Village of the craftsmen and city tour of Abomey city. Dinner and Overnight stay.

Day 4

Abomey : Grand Popo

After breakfast, visit of royal palace Djime. Continuation on Grand Popo. Arrival on Grand Popo. Installation, lunch. Village lined the ocean; it will seduce you with its former colonial buildings and its pleasant reception. You will take advantage of an excursion in penances on the river Mono, and then celebrate traditional Vodoun in the small village of Héve. Big Popo counts more beautiful beaches of coconut palms in the fine sand for your relaxations. Afternoon stroll on foot in the village of the fishermen. Visit of the vestiges, mouth of the Roy then relaxation in the beach. Dinner and overnight stay.

Day 5

Grand Popo - Ouidah

Breakfast. Departure for Ouidah. Arrival to Ouidah. Siege of the Vodoun, historic and religious City, it is the place where the slaves left the continent towards the new world. He contains inestimable vestiges of the presence of the foreign occupants, the former Dutch, English forts, and Portuguese, but the city is more typically and more profoundly African. The historic Museum of Ouidah situated in the former very Portuguese conceals vestiges of the business of the slaves with the American continent. We qualify Ouidah, capital nun of Benin because the numerous holidays with singings, tom-toms and the strange dances still show that no tradition of faith and local superstitions was deformed or interrupted.

Temples of Pythons and Forests crowned shelter still worshipped idols. Of the place Chacha in the Door of not Return by way of the Tree of return, the Tree of the oversight, the Memorial of Zoungbodji and the compartment Zomaï, Ouidah does not want to lose its memory. Visit of the Forests crowned. Open-air museum, her shelters a variety of vestiges of African divinities and is overhung by huge trees among which one in particular, the huge iroko mysteriously appeared from the ground in the disappearance of former King Kpassè, Founder de Ouidah. Afternoon visit to the supreme leader of all the divinities Vodoun of Benin and its Diaspora. Meeting and contact with the supreme leader, the other Priests and also with the Followers and Believers. Consultations on the endogenous and traditional knowledge. Dinner and Overnight stay.

Day 6

Vodoun Festival

Breakfast. Stroll on foot on the road of the slave by crossing his various stages up to the beach: Place of all the cultural events. This path is the original road which borrowed the slaves of the city center up to the coast where they were embarked on ships which led them towards the new world. The road of the slave deals as a tragedy which implied all the continents and provoked considerable turnovers and the effects of which continue to affect the modern societies: the slave draft the massive deportation of million Africans and their stake in slavery for centuries in the other regions of the world.

The global and deep transformations which she led explain partially the socio-cultural, geopolitical and economic configurations of the current world. She contains several stages so poignant the some that the others. Assistance and witness of all the demonstrations and the rites of all the divinities Vodoun. These diverse cultural events are rich in dances, singings prayers, colors. Throughout the day, it is the moment of terrible discovered and the realization of the most beautiful pictures and the films. Dinner and Overnight stay.

Day 7

Vodoun Festival

Breakfast. Stroll on foot on the road of the slave by crossing his various stages up to the beach: Place of all the cultural events. This path is the original road which borrowed the slaves of the city center up to the coast where they were embarked on ships which led them towards the new world. The road of the slave deals as a tragedy which implied all the continents and provoked considerable turnovers and the effects of which continue to affect the modern societies: the slave draft the massive deportation of million Africans and their stake in slavery for centuries in the other regions of the world.

The global and deep transformations which she led explain partially the socio-cultural, geopolitical and economic configurations of the current world. She contains several stages so poignant the some that the others. Assistance and witness of all the demonstrations and the rites of all the divinities Vodoun. These diverse cultural events are rich in dances, singings prayers, colors. Throughout the day, it is the moment of terrible discovered and the realization of the most beautiful pictures and the films. Dinner and Overnight stay.

Day 8

Ouidah - Ganvie - Cotonou

Breakfast. Visit of Temple of Pythons. Snakes maintain any sorts of symbolic meanings in the voodoo culture. Very worshipped, the god Python is him, particularly by indicated families the source of which belongs to Ouidah. A ceremony is organized every year in honour of the divinity. Continuation to Ganvie. Ganvie, big lakeside city of more than 300 000 inhabitants built on piles in the middle of the lakes where all the activities of his inhabitants take place completely on the water. Traditional village made by houses built in bamboo and covered with straw roof.

The visitors move in dugouts (small wooden boats), driven through the lagoon by the guides of the region. Return to Cotonou and lunch.
Cotonou. Economic capital of the Benin, Cotonou offers to the loving tourists of the sea, his most beautiful beach of coconut palms in the fine sand. Cotonou also offers an impressive range of Limp at night, of scrubland and refreshment rooms without forgetting sound bigger national market and for her under region, its center of the crafts in whom you go to get fresh supplies in objects of souvenir. Afternoon visit of the center of promotion of the crafts (CPA) and the market Dantokpa. City tour of Cotonou and return to hotel.

End of circuit.

Extra Information

Inclusions -

For other festivals with community character and on inquiry, the programs relative to it will be proposed to you.